Thatcher-lite

THE arguments from C Hegarty (Letters, 29 May) that Scotland is somehow immune from all the changes that were brought about under Margaret Thatcher shows that he must live, like most Yes supporters, in a parallel ­universe.

Mr Hegarty makes sweeping assumptions about the share of Scottish voters who opted for “centre/left parties” last week as over 70 per cent, but fails to acknowledge that that is on a dismal turnout of 33.5 per cent, which is hardly representative.

Indeed, as with most of a left-wing tendency, he is trying to avoid the fact that Scotland elected two right-wing candidates out of six, which is an interesting reflection on a society that is, by his account, “centre/left”.

In truth, the Scotland of 2014 is very different from that of 1974, when socialist trades union leviathans stalked the land, holding industry to ransom.

Even Alex Salmond is attempting to suggest that Scotland can free up mothers, in vastly greater numbers than exist, to work in jobs that also do not yet exist, to power Scotland’s economy forward. Surely this is a very capitalistic, utopian and Thatcherite view?

Mr Hegarty, unable to argue consistently, says that he is not aware of anyone in the separatist campaign who says that they are “morally superior” and then states that a No vote will “keep us aligned to a market-driven, increasingly unequal society”. Surely that is an argument about moral superiority, if ever there was one?

Andrew HN Gray

Craiglea Drive

Edinburgh

Following the success of Ukip in the Euro elections in Scotland despite the electorate being ordered by the First Minister to “send them Londonward tae think again”, the prospect of a delightful irony if there is a Yes vote in September opens up.

Given that the Scottish Government intends to force a currency union on the remainder of the UK thus surrendering most of the economic levers it talks about so often and its apparent slavish adherence to the EU, how long will it be before a Scottish Independence Party is formed to wrest economic freedom from the rUK and the EU?

And what might its slogan be? “The pound and Europe are millstones around Scotland’s neck –vote ScIP for true independence!” 

Dr Roger I Cartwright 

Turretbank Place 

Crieff, Perthshire

Stan Grodynski (Letters, 29 May) is concerned that No voters could become “Better Together with Ukip”, asserting that most Scottish voters opt for left-of-­centre parties.

However if we vote for independence, surely the strength of the right-wing vote increases proportionally, making us “Independent with Ukip”. Would that be better?

Mae Mitchell

Lockharton Avenue

Edinburgh

In all the assertions from separatists that Scotland only electing one Ukip member proves how different Scotland is from England, it is interesting to note that the area in England that produced the nearest result to Scotland was London, which only elected one out of eight.

That is of course the area that Alex Salmond denigrates continuously as being all that is wrong with the UK and has the biggest detrimental impact on Scotland.

In addition I noted that he ignored the difference between Scotland and North-west England, which elected three out of eight, that area being the one he was recently wooing to promote stronger ties after independence because they suffer the same way as Scotland does.

If anyone accuses me of picking and choosing to make my point, then I would point out the separatists have considerable form in that area when they compared the effect of mortality on the value of state pensions using the part of Scotland with the worst mortality with that in England with the best.

Raymond Paul

Braid Farm Road

Edinburgh